Forgotten batter Kurtis Patterson produced his finest BBL knock before speedster Matt Kelly starred with the ball to lead the Perth Scorchers to a thrilling six-run victory over the Brisbane Heat at Optus Stadium.
Patterson cracked 55 off 30 balls on Wednesday night in the Scorchers' total of 6-157 in front of 16,108 fans.
Kelly then snared 4-28 from four overs as the Heat were bowled out for 151 with one ball to spare.
Sam Heazlett scored 34 off 17 balls for the Heat, but the Scorchers looked safe once danger man Chris Lynn (27 off 33 balls) was dismissed by Ashton Agar in the 15th over to leave the score at 7-107.
The Heat needed 51 off 33 balls at that stage, and the visitors thought they had been bowled out for 115 when a Nick Hobson direct hit found No.11 Liam Guthrie well short of his ground.
However, replays showed AJ Tye had knocked off the bails before the ball struck the wickets.
Brisbane made the most of the reprieve, and a Jason Behrendorff no-ball that was sent to the fence for four meant the Heat needed eight runs off the final two balls to snatch victory.
But their late fightback was brought to an end the next ball when an attempt to scamper back for a second run resulted in Guthrie being run out.
Tail-ender Xavier Bartlett was almost the hero, finishing unbeaten on 34 off 25 balls in an effort that took the game right to the death.
The result leaves Brisbane with a 0-2 record, while the Scorchers are 1-0.
"Like it or not, this team has been here before," Heat captain Jimmy Peirson said.
"I think we won one game out of the first five last year and managed to make it through to the finals.
"It's not panic stations by any means. As long as our group is learning from our mistakes and trying to amend those.
"We started this year with some old habits, but we'll regroup, get home and get some wins on the board."
Kelly stood out with the ball for the Scorchers, while Agar (1-16) and Tye (2-32) also played key roles with the ball.
Patterson, playing just his fifth game for the Scorchers in his third season in the west, was on fire from the outset against the Heat.
The man who boasts a Test average of 144 after making two appearances against Sri Lanka in 2019 provided the early heroics to help the Scorchers post 1-40 in the initial four-over powerplay.
The run rate slowed dramatically after Patterson's exit in the 11th over, but a handy knock from Ashton Turner (28 off 19 balls) ensured the Scorchers reached a solid total.
Heat spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was economical with 1-23 off his four overs, while Cameron Gannon snared 2-32.
Australian Associated Press
